With the UN report predicting sea level rises in the Bay of Fundy perhaps as high as 3 feet, one wonders what the impacts will be on new construction like the Biological Station at St. Andrews and the new Civic Centre at St. Stephen?This photo shows high tide at the site of the new Civic Centre in St. Stephen. Hmmm?
News Item
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer - Sun Mar 15, 2:04 pm ET Scientists find bigger than expected polar ice melt WASHINGTON - The northeastern U.S. coast is likely to see the world's biggest sea level rise from man-made global warming, a new study predicts. However much the oceans rise by the end of the century, add an extra 8 inches or so for New York, Boston and other spots along the coast from the mid-Atlantic to New England. That's because of predicted changes in ocean currents, according to a study based on computer models published online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience. An extra 8 inches - on top of a possible 2 or 3 feet of sea rise globally by 2100 - is a big deal, especially when nor'easters and hurricanes hit, experts said. "It's not just waterfront homes and wetlands that are at stake here," said Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, who wasn't part of the study. "Those kind of rises in sea level when placed on top of the storm surges we see today, put in jeopardy lots of infrastructure, including the New York subway system." For years, scientists have talked about rising sea levels due to global warming - both from warm water expanding and the melt of ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica. Predictions for the average worldwide sea rise keep changing along with the rate of ice melt. Recently, more scientists are saying the situation has worsened so that a 3-foot rise in sea level by 2100 is becoming a common theme. More at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090315/ap_on_re_us/sci_northeast_sea_rise
Thanks to Vivian N.
No comments:
Post a Comment